- QatarEnergy selects Nakilat to own and operate 25 conventional LNG vessels
- The joint development of the Dorra field between Saudi Arabia and Kuwait is pending the demarcation of the border with Iran
- Minister of Energy reaffirms the UAE’s commitment to adopting clean energy and supporting the Paris Agreement
- The new Hassi Messaoud refinery enjoys the support of the government and President Tebboune
- Increasing electrical interconnection capacities to export electricity beyond borders
- Qatar Energy stops sending liquefied gas tankers through the Red Sea for security reasons
- The inauguration of the Duqm Refinery, the largest joint Gulf project in the refinery sector
- Saudi oil exports are faltering due to Houthi attacks on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden
- Algeria to host and chair the Gas Exporting Countries Forum summit (February 29 to March 2, 2024)
- Egypt Energy Conference and Exhibition 2024 gives a strong impetus to the global energy dialogue
Suadi Arabia: Temporary postponement of plans to increase oil production capacity
17 Sept., 2020
Saudi Aramco had received a directive from the Ministry of Energy to increase its Maximum Sustainable Capacity (MSC) from 12 million barrels per day to 13 million barrels per day.
However, after the historic agreement between the world’s major oil producers within the framework of the “OPEC Plus” group in April 2020 to reduce production to restore stability in the markets and prevent prices from collapsing, the Kingdom’s plans to increase oil production capacities were postponed until conditions in the oil markets became favorable.
Increasing production capacity requires huge investments to establish production infrastructure that is difficult to carry out in conditions of low oil prices. Therefore, the implementation of these directives has been postponed despite preserving plans to implement them until the appropriate conditions for implementation arise. This is in line with Nasser’s statements about the company’s intention to reduce capital expenditures for the remainder of the year 2020 and for 2021 as well, to a minimum.
Amin Al-Nasser, CEO of Aramco said: “Yes … we had announced earlier our intention to maintain our full production capacity at a rate of 12 million barrels per day, as well as to raise it to 13 million barrels per day, and we are still determined to do so.”
Officials confirm the flexibility of Aramco and its ability to deal with low prices and declining profits in a flexible manner, because capital expenditures in the exploration and production sector in the Kingdom do not exceed $ 4.7 per barrel, which is the lowest in the energy sector in the world.
